1967–1971: Early years and the first Abuelos In the mid-1960s, a club in
Barrio Norte, Buenos Aires, named
La Cueva was the focal point for
rock and roll. Some of the acts sang in English, but others were experimenting with Spanish-language lyrics, notably
Tanguito. The regulars of
La Cueva also included poetry buffs and young people willing to escape the routines of urban life; some would form the core of the Buenos Aires
hippie scene of the late 1960s. Miguel Peralta was living in the
Norte hostel at that time, and was lured into the scene by fellow poetry buff Pipo Lernoud. When a
record label, Mandioca, was created specifically to record Spanish-language rock, Peralta arranged for an interview with recording executive Ben Molar in which he claimed, untruthfully, that he had a band called
Los Abuelos de la Nada (the Grandparents of Nothingness) which was ready to enter the studio. The name was taken from a passage in
El banquete de Severo Arcángelo, a novel by
Leopoldo Marechal. Since Molar acquiesced, Peralta went on and assembled a band, featuring friends Claudio Gabis on guitar, the brothers Micky and Alberto "Abuelo" Lara on guitar and bass, Héctor "Pomo" Lorenzo on drums, and Eduardo "Mayoneso" Fanacoa on keyboards. Their first single,
Diana Divaga (Diana digresses), featured
psychedelic influences. About this time, Miguel started using
Abuelo as his artistic surname. After Gabis left the band (he was attending college and was reluctant to commit to the band), Abuelo recruited Norberto Napolitano (
Pappo). After some more psychedelic-oriented fare, Pappo started nudging the band in the direction of
blues, causing Abuelo to leave. Over time, Pappo's project mutated into Pappo's Blues. Abuelo tried to create new bands, and for a short time was singer of
El Huevo (the Egg), which would later become the core of
Pescado Rabioso. Abuelo took off to
Barcelona, Spain, in 1971 to try to re-launch his music career. Abuelo spent ten years in Europe, until
bass player
Cachorro López, who was a popular session musician with
reggae and
funk bands, convinced him to return to Argentina for a second incarnation of the band.
1981–83: Comeback and the new beginning The new band had Abuelo as lead singer, Cachorro López on bass guitar,
Andrés Calamaro on vocals and
keyboards, Gustavo Bazterrica on guitar,
Daniel Melingo on
sax, and Polo Corbella on the
drums. The 1982
Falklands War was a catalyst for
Argentine rock, as songs with English-language lyrics were not broadcast for several months. The band's materials were favored by radio DJs, including "No te enamores nunca de aquel marinero bengalí" (Never fall in love with that Bengali sailor) which grew out of improvisation during rehearsals, and "Sin gamulán" (Without a coat), written by Calamaro.
Charly García took the band under his wing after dissolving
Serú Girán, and the Abuelos played in García's 1982 Christmas concert. García also drafted López, Melingo and Calamaro for his band, in parallel with their work for the Abuelos. The 1982 debut album included many compositions by Abuelo-López, and a reggae hit by Calamaro's former partner Gringui Herrera, "Tristezas de la ciudad" (City blues). For their 1983 album,
Vasos y besos (Glasses and Kisses), Melingo wrote his own reggae hit: "Chala-man", Bazterrica contributed "No se desesperen" (Don't despair), and Calamaro chimed in with "Mil horas" (A thousand hours).
1984–85: International breakthrough, struggles and break-up The band became popular with rockers and more pop-oriented audiences. Especially, Calamaro was favored by teenage girls looking for an "edgier" idol than balladeer
Alejandro Lerner.
Vasos y besos had sold a solid 160,000 records, and was presented in a six-month country-wide tour. Record executives arranged to send the band to
Ibiza for the recording of their 1984 album
Himno de mi Corazón (Hymn of my heart), which became a sales hit as expected. Later that year, Melingo, who was also working with García and his own band Los Twist, left, and was replaced by Alfredo Desiata. By early 1985, the band's spirits were damaged due to Bazterrica's
cocaine addiction, which eventually had him fired from the band, and the rivalry between Abuelo and Calamaro for top billing. About that time, Calamaro wrote what would be his last mega-hit with the band: "Costumbres argentinas" (Argentine habits). Sensing that the band was on the verge of dissolution, the band recorded a live album in the Opera theater in Buenos Aires in May 1985. For the occasion, Gringui Herrera replaced Bazterrica, Juan del Barrio reinforced Calamaro in keyboards, and Melingo played some songs as a guest musician. This line-up played their last gig in October 1985, in
José Amalfitani Stadium, to fulfill their contractual obligation to the "Rock and Pop" festival which featured
INXS and
Nina Hagen. The crowd reacted badly to the band's evident lack of motivation (the pouring rain and the badly mixed sound did not help), and Abuelo was hit in the face by a bottle hurled from the field. The band played the remainder of their set with Abuelo visibly bleeding. After the show, Los Abuelos members disbanded indefinitely.
1986–88: Revival and Miguel Abuelo's death With the band dissolved, Abuelo started playing small venues, harking back to his roots of poetry-influenced songwriting. Late in 1986, he and Polo Corbella hired Kubero Díaz on guitar, Marcelo "Chocolate" Fogo on bass and Juan del Barrio on keyboards to form a new line-up, which recorded
Cosas mías in 1986 with relative commercial success. After the first shows, Polo Corbella left the band, replaced by Claudio "Pato" Loza, then with the addition of Willy Crook (former
Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota) on sax. In late 1987, following
gallbladder surgery, Miguel Abuelo was diagnosed with
AIDS; terminally ill, he died from
cardiac arrest a few days after his 42nd birthday. That was the end of the
Abuelos as a band; the remaining members reunited several times, with different formations. Notably, Miguel's son Gato played with Calamaro, Bazterrica and Corbella in a 1997 re-union. The rights to the
Abuelos de la Nada name were offered by Abuelo's widow Krisha Bogdan to Kubero Díaz, who refused out of respect. At some point during 2001, it was reported that Bogdan and Gato were fighting in court over the rights to the name and to Miguel Abuelo's unpublished recordings. == Legacy ==